Charcoal Video Journal
by Lou Serbio
Summary: Marvel's Thunderbolts A journal entry by Charcoal the Burning Man, set in an alternate Thunderbolts time line. One shot. read & review would be welcomed & appreciated.


Mount Charteris, Colorado. For several years now, this remote H.Q. served as the home for the Thunderbolts, ever since it was confiscated from the Masters of Evil. Today is Sunday, and Charles Burlingame a.k.a. Charcoal the Burning Man, strolled thorough the halls and sipped on a Pepsi. He passed by the lounge area, but stopped, entered, and sat on the large couch. As he lay back he glanced to his left, and tapped a control panel's button. A console parted its small doors, and out floated a spherical camera (a gadget also confiscated from Techno, after a former encounter).  
  
Charlie stood up and paced the area rug, "Start video dictation," he said for the camera microphone. "Journal Entry February, 17 2007: I decided to...uh...stay home for our vacation time while the others chose different locales. I...heh...really hate to travel, y'know? I guess that's the trauma of my dad yankin' me to an' fro. I'll no doubt be bleeding my heart to a therapist about all this...."  
  
"Besides, I don't have the desire to escape like all my teammates do. Erik no longer has any immediate family left to visit, not that it'd make a difference if they'd been alive. The dude has no incentive to feel homesick, and I feel for him. He chose to visit Cancun, and I hope he's having fun, as long as he doesn't drink the water."  
  
Charlie stood from the couch and paced.  
  
"Melissa; damn, that girl's confused. Abe's still in prison; no doubt he could use her support. But ever since she and Mr. Worthington came into the mix with his frequent visits, Mel and Warren became friends and she sort of neglected Abe. She's been very happy with Warren in her life, and God knows what those two will be doing in Paris."  
  
"Our fearless leader, Hawkeye implemented this vacation, and I can't think of anyone who deserved one more than he does. Before he left this week I asked him about this team's future, and his answer was, 'We definitely have one, kid.' Anyhow, he chose a less exotic vacation spot, New York City, and I think he's there more or less to patch up his relationship with the Avengers. That he really could use cuz his relationship with Karla is torn apart at the seams."  
  
"That is why she's alone in Barbados. Hell, Karla and Clint were nearly inseparable ever since they kissed in front of us all those months ago. We'll never forget that the hawk tamed the shrew. She developed a genuine love for him, and their pairing actually endured for a while. But ever since the day she lost possession of the Witchblade, she regressed back to Queen Bitch a hundredfold. Her demeanor prompted Clint to break off the relationship. That's why they're not sharing this free time."  
  
"Funny, they're not the only couple of this team that's separated. Ah, what am I saying? Hallie and I are separated for an entirely different reason."  
  
Suddenly, Charlie paused his pacing, and the camera paused its hovering with him. He observed a framed photo of him and Hallie smiling in a Las Vegas cathedral. He removed it form the shelf and more closely stared at it.  
  
He grinned in recollection of the day it was taken months ago, but continued the journal dictation. "She's driving the Jeep to Wisconsin to visit her aunt and uncle: family she's just discovered through one of those search organizations. Until now no one knew that she was alive, healthy, married. She and I agreed that this was a visit she needed to do by herself, although I sure wouldn't have minded meeting her family. But *sigh* we respect each other's wishes, and I love her too much not to grant the wishes she makes. Still, I really miss my wife."  
  
"So this is my team's thang this week. Until next time, Journal entry February 7, 2007 end." He placed the photo back on the shelf, and tapped the control panel. The spherical camera returns back to the console. Charlie left the lounge with a warm Pepsi. 


End file.
